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2014 

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by 

VIRGINIA MISHNUN 






/ 







“A Great- People Was On the March" 













INDIAN’S DOG 


by 

VIRGINIA MISHNUN 


U. S. OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS 



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When the Son of the Sun came to Earth 
he was accompanied by a dog. 

—Old Sayings of the Flatheads. 


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CHAPTER I 

THE DOG COMES TO AMERICA 

W AY up north, at the top of the world, men, women and children were 
making their way through the wilderness. Heavy winds blinded their 
eyes. Snowdrifts blocked their way. Beneath the chunks of moving ice, 
the water was deep and cold. Crossing the narrow Arctic passage, it was hard 
to tell solid land from floating ice. There were no roads. There were no 
guides. There was only a wilderness of white snow where no one had ever 
walked before. The dogs ran ahead, tested the ice, found the safe places, 
looked for hard packed snow that the men would not sink into, and rushed 
back, yapping and barking, to their masters. 

At night the group halted, rested, ate raw meat, tended the dogs, 
and prepared for the next day's journey into the unknown. Hunger, cold, 
and wild beasts attacked them. These were the enemies they had to watch 
out for all the time. These were the enemies that kept them close together. 

A great people was on the march. Day after day, year after year, 
they pushed on, until they discovered a new world. They themselves never 
really knew where the old world of Asia left off and the new continent of 
America began. They did not have the knowledge nor the instruments that 
we have, but they had courage and the will to survive. Although many per- 


5 


ished on the journey, the bands lived on. Children were born, grew to man¬ 
hood, and still the groups moved on. It was 10,000 years ago or more that 
these prehistoric ancestors of the modern Indians are believed to have dis¬ 
covered America. 


A Boy and His Dog 

A GAWEJ was six years old when his people left their home in 
Asia and started on the long journey. He had great fun dur¬ 
ing the years of wandering. He enjoyed adventure, and he 
liked the changing scenes and scenery. The months of daylight 
and the months of night. For six months of the year in the far 
north he woke up and went to sleep with the sun shining full in 
his face. And then for six whole months it was always dark. But 
Agawej's people did not count time by months. While they were 
in the north they spoke only of two season's, Fire-Time when 
there was sun, and No-Fire-Time when it was dark. During No- 
Fire-Time Agawej and his friends used to count falling stars as 
they journeyed through the darkness. 

Some of the men said that a certain very bright star was 
really a dog that had jumped so high he got caught in the sky and 
couldn't get back to earth. When the boys heard that they tried 

6 


to make their own dogs jump way up, hoping to see them leap 
right off the earth into the star-filled sky. But none of the dogs 
could do it. 

As Agawej grew older, his father let him help with the 
dogs. He strapped their burdens firmly on the dogs' backs and if 
any of the fastenings became loose, he quickly tightened them 
again. 

Agawej had his own dog. His name was Tarkaru and he 
had shaggy brown hair. He was the largest, strongest dog of the 
whole pack, and he was very gentle because Agawej was always 
kind to him. 

One day when Agawej was playing with his friends, he was 
so busy counting falling stars that he did not notice where he was 
going, and fell into the deep, icy water which rapidly swirled him 
away. Tarkaru jumped right in and pulled him out, holding him 
gently but firmly with his teeth, and swimming quickly to shore. 
He saved Agawej’s life that day. 

Several years later Agawej had a chance to repay Tarkaru. 
One day, when they were out hunting, Tarkaru's right front paw 
was badly wounded. Agawej cleaned the blood away with melted 


7 


snow, and he and his friends carried the dog in their arms for the 
next two days. They had to walk slowly. Many of the people grum¬ 
bled. Some of them said, "Leave the dog behind. He will never be 
able to run again. You might as well forget about him." 

The dog looked at Agawej, watching to see what he would 
do. Agawej looked at his father, wondering what he would say. 
Then Agawej's father spoke. He said, "We will remain behind 
with the dog." And so they did. 

They were very careful with the sick dog, and each day he 
was able to walk a little faster. They took such good care of Tar- 
karu that in a short time he was able to run again. Then he began 
sniffing around to find out which way the rest of the people had 
gone. In a little while they caught up with the group. Everyone 
was surprised and glad to see them again, and to see Tarkaru wag¬ 
ging his tail, and running faster than ever. After that whenever a 
dog was hurt the men were more patient and helped him to get 
well. 

One day Agawej's father gave him a club and a spear. He 
taught him how to hunt the large bears that roamed through the 
forests. By the time the band reached the great salmon runs of 


8 


what is now called the Unak River in southern Alaska, Agawe] 
was an experienced hunter, woodsman and traveler. He was then 
fifteen years old. 

On the banks of the Unak River Agawej lived in his first 
real home in the new world. The house he lived in was an under¬ 
ground lodge made by digging a round hole in the earth. There 
were no doors and no windows, but there was an opening in the 
middle of the roof. In order to get into his house Agawej had to 
climb down a wooden log which was placed in this opening and 
which rested on the floor. There were notches cut like steps into 
the log. Sometimes, when the boys wanted to have fun, they would 
jump right into the house without using the log, but when they 
wanted to go out they always had to climb up the log. 

Agawej liked living on the Unak River. There he grew to 
manhood, and there he had many sons. Their mother was Andar- 
waka, with whom Agawej had counted falling stars in the years 
of wandering. 

After the people had lived on the river bank for twenty 
years, some of the men decided to move on. The youths were es¬ 
pecially anxious to do so. They remembered the tales their fath- 

9 


ers told of the great crossing of the northern passage, and some 
of them even remembered the journey itself. 

Agawej, together with several others, remained behind. 
But his four sons joined the new band of wanderers who pushed 
on further into the new continent. They wandered many years. 
Their journey did not end until they were quite old men and it took 
them across lakes and streams, through valleys, woodlands, and 
mountains. Finally they settled on the banks of a wide river, 
now known as the Columbia River. They liked it there. During the 
spawning season there were many salmon, and this reminded them 
of their boyhood days on the Unak. The fish were easily caught 
with spears and nets. The woods were filled with berries and there 
were many plants in the fields that were good to eat. Wild beasts 
roamed the forests, and when the men went hunting they taught 
the dogs not to tear the dead animals to pieces, but to stand by 
quietly until they were given their share. 

The sons of Agawej never went further than the Columbia 
River. That was where they remained, but their children continued 
wandering, and their children’s children did the same. And so it 
kept on for hundreds of years, until there were people living on the 

10 


whole continent, and the great-great-great-great-great-great- 
ever-so-great-grandsons of Agawej finally reached the very tip of 
what is now called South America. There, at Tierra del Fuego, the 
continent ended. Now there was no more land, only water. They 
could go no further. 

These people, who were the first settlers of America, came 
from a far-off land before the white man came. No one knows 
exactly why nor how the ancient ancestors of the Indians came, 
nor from where they came. But men who have studied the bones 
and skeletons that may still be found in caves and in mounds 
under the earth, believe that the early Indians came here from 
Asia, and that they reached this continent across the narrow pas¬ 
sage way up north, called Bering Strait. This probably happened 
in the far-off time called the New Stone Age. 

On their long journey across icy waters and snow-covered 
lands, through mountains and valleys, through the wilderness 
where man had never walked before, these ancestors of the Indians 
brought their dogs, their loyal companions and helpers on the 
great pioneer voyage into unknown and uninhabited America. 
Skulls and bones of ancient dogs are found beside the bones of 


11 


ancient men in North and South America. Then, as now, the dog 
was faithful throughout his life and he was faithful unto death. 
Perhaps some of the bones that have been found were those of 
Agawej and his favourite dog, Tarkaru. 


12 


CHAPTER II 

THE DOG WAS A WORKER AND FRIEND 

T HERE were three kinds of dogs in the old days: the large, wolf-like Eski¬ 
mo dog of the Asiatic countries, powerfully built, with erect ears and 
bushy tail; a smaller type of dog of varying size and proportions with 
erect ears and drooping tail; a much smaller, terrier size, either thickset or 
slender, with short, broadened face, or tapering skull. Each of these groups 
included many varieties. 

The medium-sized dogs of Tierra del Fuego are used for hunting 
and as watch dogs. The large, powerful dogs of Alaska, at the other end of 
the continent, are used in teams to pull heavily loaded sledges across the 
snow-covered land. And in between, throughout the land, are dogs of every 
size, color and description; short-tailed and long-tailed, flat-faced and long¬ 
faced, smooth-haired and rough-haired, long-haired and short-haired. These 
dogs have, for generations, been useful in many ways. They have supplied 
man with wool and with food. They have served as beasts of burden, hunt¬ 
ing companions, guides, watch dogs, and pets. Wherever man went, the 
dog went with him, and was loved and protected by the Indian whom he in 
turn loved and served. 

When, long after the Indian migration, white men crossed the At- 

13 


lantic on their great journey to colonize America, the Indians' land, they 
found that Indian dogs were the only animals, beside the turkey and the 
llama, which the Indians had domesticated. They had no horses then. The 
Spaniards who came here four hundred years ago were surprised to find 
that, across a vast ocean that took many months to cross, there lived people 
who loved their dogs, cared for them tenderly, and taught them to do many 
things. 

The grandmother of a Thompson River woman told her this story of 
a sheep hunt: 


Story of a Sheep Hunt 

M OUNTAIN sheep used to be very plentiful in the Ashnola 
district, and the people there decided to have a great sheep 
hunt one winter, partly to have an abundance of meat for 
their festival, and partly to show their guests what fine sheep hunt¬ 
ing ground they had. They invited the neighboring folk, and a 
great many came from the Thompson and Nicola Rivers, Okan- 
agon Lake and the Columbia River. 

When they neared the place where they were going to 
drive, many drivers saw and started great numbers of sheep but 
they failed to get them to the top of the mountain. Instead, the 
sheep congregated on a steep, inaccessible cliff, and stayed there, 

14 



"The dog rushed off and drove the sheep fiercely" 













knowing it was a secure place. The great drive came to a stand, 
and the hunting chief could see no way to get the sheep out. 

My grandmother was among the drivers. She was a Simil- 
kameen, and very resourceful. The leading Similkameen people 
held a consultation. They said, "All our friends will laugh at us if 
we cannot get sheep for them." The Upper Thompson woman 
said, "Yes, they certainly will." The chief then said to her, "Well 
you may know something. I will give the leadership of this hunt to 
you; you shall be hunting chief." She answered, "Very well, but 
one thing you must promise. You must promise never again to 
abuse my dog. I will drive the sheep alone with my dog, and you 
may sit down and watch me." 

She then approached the sheep in a certain way, giving a 
sharp call. The sheep ran into a bunch which she now pointed out 
to the dog. She said to it, "Friend, go and drive your friends so that 
they will go up where the people want them." 

The dog rushed off and drove the sheep fiercely. When 
any of them scattered, he rounded them up again. He was very 
intelligent, courageous, and fleet of foot, and long-winded. The 
woman followed as fast as she could, encouraging him. The dog 


16 


drove all the sheep up, and the men in waiting killed a great 
number. 


Dogs as Burden Bearers 

T HE Indians trained the dogs long ago not only to hunt, but also to help 
in carrying heavy loads over far distances. As pack animals for moving 
camp in pursuit of the bison, dogs were formerly of great service to the 
Indians of the Plains country. A white man who came to the land of the In¬ 
dians four hundred years ago wrote about the dogs of the Plains Indians 
and of the travois which he had never seen before, and which was used in 
the Plains country from Saskatchewan to the Rio Grande. This is what he 
wrote: 

"They have dogs like those in our country except that they are some¬ 
what larger and they load these dogs like beasts of burden, and make sad¬ 
dles for them like our pack saddles and they fasten them with leather 
thongs. When they go hunting, they load these with their necessities. When 
they move, for these Indians are not settled in one place, since they travel 
wherever the cows (buffalo) move, to support themselves, these dogs carry 
their houses dragging along tied on to the pack saddles, besides the load 
which they carry on top, and the load may be, according to the size of the 
dog, from thirty-five to fifty pounds." 

The travois, which existed long before the white men came, but 
which they were the first to describe in written words, consists of two light 
poles, the smaller ends fastened together and resting on the dog's shoul¬ 
ders, the heavier ends kept apart by a crosspiece and trailing behind. A 
leather collar holds the frame in place. The tipi covering, household goods 
and other utensils were then piled on this triangular frame. In this way, en- 


17 



"The travois 


consists of two light poles" 
































tire villages were moved, the dogs dragging the tents and household effects 
over great distances. 

Dog sleds were regularly employed by the Okanagon and ancient 
Chippewa. The dog team still provides the commonest means of transpor¬ 
tation among the Eskimo. As pups the dogs are carefully nursed and tend¬ 
ed. At about four months they are put to the sledge and gradually learn to 
pull with the team. 

Eskimo Dogs 

Among the Hudson Bay Eskimo a team generally consists of from 
eight to nine animals. These dogs show great strength, intelligence, and en¬ 
durance, pulling their loads through blinding snowstorms, at times keeping 
to the trail even should the driver himself lose it, and, when necessary, ac¬ 
tually going without food for long periods. The last happens only rarely, in 
cases when the trip is longer than had been planned, and the food supply 
has given out. 

The Eskimos should be very careful to feed and tend their dogs well 
for it is by means of the dog team that they send supplies and messages to 
their tiny, widely separated villages which would otherwise have no means 
of communicating with each other. There are many true stories of the dog's 
usefulness and heroism in making dangerous journeys through the snow- 
covered wilderness to bring a doctor, medicines and serums to a sick man in 
an isolated community. In Alaska, as in other places, dogs have saved 
many human lives. 

Dog Hair Cloth 

The dog is not only used for hunting and for hauling. In olden 
times his hair was sometimes shorn and used by certain fibes for spinning 
and weaving cloth. In a letter that he sent to the King of Spain in 1540, 
Mendoza, one of Coronado's friends, wrote: "In their houses they keep 


19 



"Dogs were kept as household pets and hunting companions" 


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some hairy animals, like the large Spanish hounds which they shear, and 
they make long coloured wigs from the hair, like this one which I send your 
Lordship, which they wear; and they also put this same stuff into the cloth 
which they make/' 


Companions and Guides 

The ancient Hopi had a dog that was a pet rather than a beast of 
burden, and his many good qualities are told in Hopi legends. For many, 
many years, small dogs were kept as household pets and hunting compan¬ 
ions by the Indians of the Plains and the forest country, and by canoe-using 
tribes. Through all the years the dog has protected and guarded and loved 
the Indian. Their ancestors have always loved, fed and protected the dog. 
This the modern Indian also should do. 


21 


CHAPTER III 


BUFFALO-BIRD-WOMAN'S ACCOUNT 


HE Hidatsa, like most Indians, are very good to their dogs. 



Buffalo-Bird-Woman's account describes how her people take 
care of their dogs. 


The Puppy 


Dogs bred at any time of the year. As soon as we noticed 
that a bitch was carrying puppies we were careful not to put a 
travois on her or kick her abdomen or otherwise hurt her, lest her 
young be injured. 

When a litter of puppies was expected, a kennel was pre¬ 
pared for them. A pit five or six feet in diameter and about a foot 
and a half or two feet deep was dug. Across the center was laid 
a log as for the ridge pole of a cabin roof and against this were 


22 


laid split planks. These planks were covered with earth and grass 
like an earth lodge, but with a space left for the floor. The pit was 
dug deep enough so that small puppies could not climb out. In 
cold weather or in rain, the door was covered with an old skin, 
which was weighed down with a log or a heavy stick. 

Sometimes a neighbor might ask that a puppy be kept for 
him. We always gave such puppy as a gift and never expected 
anything in return. 

Puppies were born blind, but after four nights their eyes 
opened. When ten days old, their teeth appeared. At this time the 
neighbor for whom one of the puppies might be saved would come 
to the lodge for it, for it was now old enough to be given away. 

For food for the puppies we cut any kind of meat into 
small pieces and boiled it. After a meal, scraps of cooked meat 
were cut up and given to them. We would not give puppies raw 
meat, because, if we did, they would have worms. This rule ap¬ 
plied only to puppies; to old dogs we gave either raw or cooked 
meat. Puppies should be fed often so as to keep them fat and 
make them grow big. 

When a puppy was ten days old, his teeth appeared, grow- 

23 


ing sharper and sharper every day. Very soon he began to bite 
his mother's teats; then she would grow restless and wean 
him. 


Feeding 

As dogs became adult we fed them meat and also cooked 
corn for them, boiling it into a kind of mush. Anything that turned 
sour in the lodge, like boiled corn, we gave to the dogs. Any food 
that was spoiled or for some reason was rejected by the family, 
was set aside for them. If, on the hunt, an animal was killed that 
was lean and poor in flesh, it was given to the dogs. 

A man who killed a buffalo, saved the parts that he did 
not want for himself and gave them to the dogs. When buffalo 
were abundant, the hunters kept only the best parts. After the 
killing anyone who wished meat for his dogs could go to the place 
where the carcasses were butchered and get the cast-away 
pieces. 

Ordinarily, if the weather was warm, dogs slept outside of 
the lodge. If the nights were quite cold, dogs might be permitted 
inside of the lodge in the rear, beyond the fire. 


24 


Gathering Wood 

One of the chief uses for dogs was to carry the wood gath¬ 
ered for fuel. In our family we always took the dogs and travois 
with us when we went wood-gathering. 

When we took the travois out of the lodge preparatory to 
going after wood, the dogs would bark, "Wu, Wu, Wu," and wag 
their tails with joy. Among the three or four dogs our family us¬ 
ually kept there was not much preference, since all of them were 
good working animals. I never found a dog to be lazy when bring¬ 
ing in wood. All that was needed to make him go faster was to 
call him. We never whipped our dogs. It was never necessary to 
whip one, in my experience; to call him was enough. I would cry, 
"Na, na," (Come, come,) and that was enough. 

When we set out, the four dogs followed in single file. As 
they were hitched to the travois, they never tried to escape or run 
away. When we stopped, they stopped or lay down in the road. 

The travois poles were cut flat at the lower end so as to 
run smoothly over the ground. In summer, a dog travois could not 
be loaded as heavily as in winter, when it was so much easier for 
the dog to drag it over the snow-covered ground. 


25 



"It took about four days to train a dog to drag a travois" 


<v>-(/> oc/)H nn z ^>o 









































































On the return from the woods the dogs followed us in single 
file. We never had to lead a dog by a thong. If for some reason a 
dog stopped, it was sufficiant to call him by name, and the dog 
would obey and follow. We also used dogs when we went hunting. 
We took a dog and carried a boat on a travois. 

Training a Dog 

It took about four days to train a dog to drag a travois. The 
first three days the woman tied a thong around the dog's neck 
collar and led him. By the fourth day the dog had learned and 
would follow his owner. For the first trip very little wood was load¬ 
ed on the travois, but the amount was increased from day to day 
until the dog could drag a full load. Some dogs were much strong¬ 
er than others and could carry a much larger load. We always 
knew which dog to load the heaviest. 


27 


CHAPTER IV 


INDIAN TALES ABOUT DOGS 


W HAT happened in the beginning and how the world came to be is a 
problem that men have always thought about, and it is the subject of 
many old Indian myths and stories. In some of these the Creator is ac¬ 
companied by a dog, or gives the dog to man as a gift, and sometimes the 
dog himself helps shape the world. 

Wakonda gave the people a bow, a dog, and a grain of 
corn. . . the dogs gave increase and were used as bur¬ 

den bearers and for hunting. 

—Ancient Ponca story. 

The Crows say that the Old Man who created them out of the 
earth gave them a dog to carry their things. Among the creation myths 
there is a Tlingit story which tells of an Athapascan dog that chased a 
cloud one day until he came out on the other side of the world, on the edge 
of a very steep cliff. There the dog found a hoop and, seizing it, threw it to 
the tops of the mountains where it made the curved shapes the mountains 
have today. When the hoop rolled back, the dog caught it a second time 
and, rolling it again with all his strength, he threw it so high that it went 
clear around the sun where it made the halo of light seen there. 


28 



"He threw it so high that it went clear around the sun" 















KATO CREATION MYTH 
Nagaitcho, the Surpassing Being of the Kato and 
the Landmaker 

After finishing the new earth, turned north again. 
Walk behind me, my dog, he said, 

We will look at that which has taken place. 

Walk fast, my dog. he said; 

They drank of the water that had become, 

They saw that it was good. 

The valleys had broadened, 

The streams were flowing, 

Between the trees the brush was growing; 

I have made a good earth, my dog, he said. 

Acorns grew on the oaks, hazelnuts ripened. 

The berries of the manzanita were whitening, 
Many deer fed in the meadows. 

All things had grown and matured. 

We have made them good, my dog, 

The mountains have grown up quickly. 

The air is warm, my dog, 


30 


It is pleasant to live in. 

He turned his steps to the north, away from the earth head, 
We will go back, my dog, 

Look how the mountains have grown 
We are about to arrive, he said, 

We are close home, my dog, 

I am about to arrive in the north, 

I am about to get back to my home in the north, 

He said to himself three times, 

I am about to arrive, 

It is finished. 

Dogs in Creation Myths 

T HIS is how the Great Manitou sat in serious contemplation at 
the time he had actually created mortals. He began to see 
that he had caused them to move. Then, it seems, he said to 
them, "You are to raise this for yourselves here." It was a single 
weed. "You will call it tobacco. And you will derive your susten¬ 
ance from every kind of harvest crop so as to continue to live. And 


31 


I grant you this, every kind of game animal to be with you. And 
I grant you the dog to be your friend here where you have your 
hearth/' That, it seems, is what he said to them at the time he 
first made them. 

Then the Great Manitou summoned all his fellow mani- 
tous and told them what he had done. And he said, "I have made 
harvest crops and game animals of every kind of appearance for 
them. And I have granted them a dog to be their companion where 
they have their fireplace. Dog is what we shall call it for them. 
Whenever they think anything concerning their lives they shall 
freely start to take the dog by its head. So shall we therefore bless 
their lives when they shall remember us. That is as much as I 
granted to be with them. I did so for them so that it would be more 
comfortable for them, and so that they would not bother me alone 
there with their complaints." 

Among the Creeks there are tales which represent dogs 
as living in towns with square gardens like human beings. Many 
tribes address the dog as a member of the family. The Athapas¬ 
can and Assiniboine call the dog "son" and "son-in-law." Among 
the Pueblos dogs are sometimes spoken of as the children of men. 


32 



"In the Zuni story, the dog calls his master 'father' " 




































































In the Zuni story of the dog tatler, the dog calls his master "fath¬ 
er," and the master speaking of the dog, calls him "my child, the 
little one watches over me." 

There are many stories about the transformation of dogs 
into people and of people into dogs. Among the Arapaho, Alsea, 
Cochiti, and Klamath there are tales in which dogs are either 
born of human beings and humans of dogs, or else they are chang¬ 
ed into each other after birth. 

The Apache tribe had no food except the reeds of two 
plants, when a sharp-eyed Indian discovered that the raven ate 
meat. The tribe followed the raven at a discreet distance, and 
came to a great circle of ashes where the ravens were accustom¬ 
ed to cook their meals. 

There was no getting at their secret without magic. So a 
medicine man transformed a boy into a puppy; the ravens found 
him and adopted him. At sunset the puppy peeped from his cov¬ 
ers and saw the old raven brush aside the ashes of the fireplace 
and remove a large stone which disclosed an opening into the 
underworld; through the opening he disappeared, and came back 
shortly with a buffalo, which the ravens killed and ate. 


34 































For four sunsets the little puppy watched this descent; but 
on the fifth day he changed himself back into a boy, and went 
into the opening. When he emerged he brought with him all the 
animals at present upon the surface of the earth. They were led by 
the buffalo, the king of animals. 

The story of the Naensx'a of the Koskimo tells of a man 
and a dog that are made to change bodies, and closes with the 
statement "From this time on the Koskimo began to treat their 
dogs better, for they knew that they are beings like ourselves." 

Many stories and myths tell of the dog's ability in hunting, 
his keenness of scent, and his great devotion to the hunter. There 
are Creek and Seneca tales which show the usefulness of dogs in 
saving their masters from harm and in helping in the hunt. 

In one of the Tlingit myths, a little dog feeds a whole fam¬ 
ily by going off alone to hunt sheep and grouse. He does this out 
of pity for his hungry masters, and in the end he is revealed as the 
Wolf Chief's son. 


36 


The Hitchiti Hunter and His Dogs 

A MAN having many dogs fell sick and lay in a helpless con¬ 
dition. One small puppy was able to talk to his master. What¬ 
ever the big dogs thought they told to the puppy and he in 
turn told his master all that had been said. 

While they were there the big dogs said to the puppy, 
"There is no food hereabouts. Tell him we can carry him along 
with us on the hunt if he agrees." 

The puppy told his master. He said, "They want me to 
tell you that we could take you hunting with us." When he told 
him that the man answered, "You could not take me in any way." 
But the dogs said to the puppy again, "Tell him we know a way 
by which we can take him if he agrees to go." 

When he told his master the latter said, "You may take 

37 


me if you can think of a way." The puppy told the big dogs. "If 
that is so we will take him with us," said the dogs. 

They laid his gun on the bedding, and all seized the corn¬ 
ers of the blanket under him, lifted it up and went on with it. When 
they got far off they stopped and made a camp, and laid the man 
down, and the dogs collected wood for him. 

Then they built a fire and while the man lay still the dogs 
went out hunting for him. Each evening, when they came back, 
they brought some squirrels or turkeys they had killed and he ate 
them. The man lying there got a little better. While he was still 
in bed, the dogs said to the puppy, "Tell him we will move on 
again if he agrees." 

The puppy told his master. He said, "They say it is best 
to move." When the puppy told him, he said, "All right." So they 
seized the blanket again, carried him along, and made another 
camp. 

Laying the man down there the dogs went hunting and 
returned again in the evening with some squirrels or turkeys they 
had killed or some tortoises they had found. The man ate them 
in bed and got better. 


38 



"Each evening they brought some squirrels and turkeys they had killed" 













When he got up and could go about, for short distances, 
the dogs went out hunting one morning, and he heard them bark¬ 
ing not very far from camp. The puppy had remained with the 
man in camp. 

Then one dog came back on the run and said, "We have 
treed a bear but we can’t do anything with him. I have come to 
see if our master can not come to that place, which is only a short 
distance away." He told this to the little dog, and the puppy told 
it to his master. 

"If I go slowly I may be able to get there," said the man. 
The puppy said, "He says, 'I will go.' " When he told the other 
dog he ran back again and informed the rest. "He is going to 
come," he said. 

So the dogs waited and kept watch on the bear. When the 
man and the puppy got there they brought the man's gun. The 
man shot down the bear which had been treed, skinned it, and 
cut it up. Then the dogs seized the pieces thus cut up and carried 
them all back to camp. They had plenty of meat. 

"Now I am well," said the man. "Let us go home." The 
puppy said to the dogs. "He wants me to say to you 'We must go 

40 


home/' and the big dogs said, "All right; but tell him when we 
get there and his former mother-in-law wants to give him some¬ 
thing to eat, before he eats, he must let us eat." This former moth¬ 
er-in-law was the man's enemy but he did not know it. "All right," 
said the man and they started on. 

When they reached his home, the man sat down to eat, 
but remembered what the dogs had told him. The thought troubl¬ 
ed him very much. He sat without eating. 

Then he saw the dogs looking at him. The puppy sat look¬ 
ing, and the man sitting there gave a piece of bread to each. The 
puppy took the bread, moved away, and sat down. 

Tales Symbolize Indian Attitudes 

O F COURSE, every one knows that these are just stories, and people 
enjoy telling them and hearing them, although no one really believes 
them. But these many stories about dogs, told by different tribes, give 
present day Indians an idea of how their ancestors loved and cared for their 
dogs, and of the close relationship that has existed for thousands of years 
between men and dogs. 

Not only the tales and myths, but ancient Indian customs, lan¬ 
guages, ceremonials and burial rites, show the importance of the dog to the 
lives of the people. In the Chitimacha, Creek, Winnebago and other tribes, 
there are dog clans. Among the symbolic haircuts related to the child-nam- 


41 


ing ritual of the Osage tribe, there is a special hair arrangement of the Tsi- 
Tzhu gens which symbolizes all animals of the dog family and also the Dog 
Star, Sirius. It is said that in the days before horses, the Crow judged a 
man's wealth by the number of dogs he owned. The Dog Soldiers of the 
Plains country formed a kind of special police that had its origin in a secret 
society whose duty was to maintain order during the buffalo hunt and to 
keep the camp together. This was an honourable task and the fact that the 
men assigned to it were called Dog Soldiers might be another indication of 
the esteem in which dogs were held. 

Practically all Indian languages contain ancient native words for 
dog. The dog was so important to the Indian's ancestors that when the 
horse was introduced, it was called by the Sioux, "mysterious dog." When 
they first saw the horse, the Flathead people called it by their term for dog. 
Later they used the name common to all Salish tribes for horse, which is 
related to their word for dog. 

Indian warriors and tribal chiefs were sometimes called Dog as a 
mark of respect. A famous Sioux hero was called Crow Dog. An Iroquois 
chief was named Dogs-Around-the-Fire, and an Osage chief, the Learned 
Dog. 

For thousands of years, the way people lived depended on whether 
or not they had dogs. Those who had dogs had hunting companions and 
pets, dog-meat to eat when they were hungry, dogs for sacred ceremonials, 
dogs as guides and protection against enemies, and, above all, dogs to pull 
their heavy loads over the vast country. 

The Eskimo still use the dog sledge as their most common means of 
travel. Among many people, but especially among the Plains Indians, the 
dog was very important in the struggle to live. Without the dog, entire vil¬ 
lages could not have moved in search of the buffalo, and in former times 
great numbers of Indians lived by hunting the buffalo, eating his flesh, and 


42 



'Those who hod dogs had hunting companions' 














using the hide for tents and clothing. Thus because the dog has always 
been so important to the Indian's way of life, it has found an imperishable 
place in the memory of his race. In the great literature of myths and leg¬ 
ends which is the modern Indian's proud heritage, the dog is an important 
character. 


44 


CHAPTER V 

PRAYER OF THE DOGS 


T O the Great Spirit we pray. 

To the Great Spirit we say, 

Tell men to be kind to us, 

Tell them to be good to us, 

We are the White Man's friend 
We are the Indian's friend. 

When the world was an empty bowl 
Filled with darkness and cold, 

The Manitou made fire, 

He made a man and a dog. 

As long as men have wandered over the earth 
We have wandered with them, 


45 


Trailing their possessions, 

Tracking down the wild beasts, 

Following in the chase, 

Running through the long grass, 

Running through the short grass 
Keeping to the trail. 

Give us these gifts, Great Manitou, 

Let men love us more than they do now, 

Let them be kind to us 
As the rain in early Spring, 

Tell them to touch us with a gentle hand, 

We cannot answer though we can understand. 
Great Manitou, you remember us 
And you have more things to remember than men. 
Let men remember us too, 

Then we will not have to bark so much. 

Give us these gifts, Great Manitou, 

Give us red meat to eat, 

Let us eat every day; 

When our masters eat 


46 








Let them give us dogs 
Meat and a bone. 

When the wind blows cold 
Let us lie beside the men; 

Our ears hear everything, 

Let the man who has dogs sleep well, 

We will protect him. 

Great Manitou, that is what we ask you. 

Tell men to give us food to eat 
When they have food to eat; 

Water to drink when they have water to drink; 
Tell them to let us walk beside them 
In all the seasons of the years, 

In all the days of their lives. 

Tell them that the dog who has no master 
Is a messenger of the Great Manitou. 

Tell them that when the dogs bark in the night 
They are speaking to the Great Manitou. 


48 


Do not kill gentle dogs. Dogs are magic friends. They 
have mystery power. When I die I shall go up in the sky; the vil¬ 
lage dogs will call to me early in the morning, about daylight, like 
coyotes and again at noon; and in the evening they will howl and 
bark at me. 

Wolf-Chief, Hidatsa. 


49 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 


Source Material 

Chapter I. The Dog Comes to America 

Allen, Glover M., 

Dogs of the American Aborigenes. 

Bulletin, Museum of Comparative Zoology. Vol. 63, No. 9. 

Chapter II. The Dog Was a Worker and Friend 

Henderson, Junius, and Harrington, J. P., 

Ethnozoology of the Tewa Indians. 

56th Annual Bulletin, Bureau of American Ethnology. 

Teit, James A., 

The Salishan Tribes of the Plateaus. 

Edited by Franz Boas. 

45th Annual Report, Bureau of American Ethnology. 

Chapter III. Buffalo-Bird Woman's Account 

This entire chapter consists of material condensed and quoted from the fol¬ 
lowing source: 

Wilson, Gilbert 

The Horse and Dog in Hidatsa Culture, 

Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of National His¬ 
tory, Vol. XV, Part II. 


50 


Chapter IV. Indian Tales About- Dogs 

The material quoted in this chapter is from the following sources: 

Austin, Mary 

The American Rhythm. 

Boston, Houghtin Mifflin Co., 1930. 

Kato Creation Myth. 

Branch, Edward Douglas, 

The Hunting of the Buffalo. 

New York, D. Appleton-Century Co., 1929. 

Apache Tale. 

Fletcher, Alice C. and La Flesche, Francis 

The Omaha Tribe. 

27th Annual Report, Bureau of American Ethnology. 

Ancient Ponca Story. 

Michelson, Truman 

A Sacred Pack Called Sagimak 'kwawa Belonging to the Bear Gens of 
the Fox Indians in Contributions to Fox Ethnology. 

Bulletin 85, Bureau of American Ethnology. 

Creation Myth of the Bear Gens of the Fox Indians. 

Swanton, J. R., 

The Story of the Four Brothers in Tlingit Myths and Texts. 

Bulletin 39, Bureau of American Ethnology. 

Tlingit Creation Myth. 


51 


Myths and Tales of the Southwestern Indians. 

Bulletin 88, Bureau of American Ethnology. 

The Hunter and His Dogs. 

Acknowledgement is made to the above sources for permission to reprint 
material from the works cited. 

Background Material 


Boas, Franz 

Story of the Naensx'a of the Koskimo in Ethnology of the Kwakiutl. 

35th Annual Report, Bureau of American Ethnology. 

Henderson, Junius and Harrington, J. P., 
op. cit 

La Flesche, Francis 

The Osage Tribe. 

43rd Annual Report, Bureau of American Ethnology. 

Lowie, R. H., 

The Crow Indians. 

New York, Farrar and Rinehart, 1935. 

McGee, W. J., 

The Siouan Indians. 

15th Annual Report, Bureau of American Ethnology. 


52 


Simms, S. C., 

Traditions of the Crows. 

Field Columbian Museum Publications, Anthropoligical Series, Vol. 
5, 1903. 

Swanton, J. R., 

Indian Tribes of 'the Lower Mississippi Valley. 

Bulletin 43, Bureau of American Ethnology. 


53 









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